Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

I just got a ticket for "reckless driving"....that is all the cop told me.....i was speeding in a residential area. he fined me 416 bucks and 6 points......according to South Carolina law "reckless driving" has a maximum fine of 200 bucks. Can someone who is familiar with the law please help me

maximaman14

Start looking through the yellow pages

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

Check your PM

GR8MAX

Reckless in a residential is a doosy! The $200 bucks is just the reckless part...then it's probably 10-15 bucks for every mile over the posted limit...and the 6 points may very well get your liscense suspended and insurance dropped....you better plan on pleeing this one down with something, maybe driving school, or community service or something! And find a lawyer to help you on this one.

Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

Well he didn't clock me, so he doesn't know how much over the limit that I was. Also in South Carolina you have to accumulate 12 points on your license before it is suspended. Does anybody have any advice on what to do?

nismotech

The best thing you can do right now its to go to court and see if you can convince the judge to drop the "Reckless Driving" charge down to a regular speeding ticket.

You be lucky if you can just pay the fine and forget about it.

NT2SHBBY

wow $416.00....thats alot of $$$ for a ticket...

better get yourself Johnny Cochran!

MaxedOut2g

6 points? damn man, i have 3 and DMV is threatening to revoke my license if i get 1 more...

SHIFT_nissan

What exactly where you doing? You might be able to argue that he has no proof that u were doing anything wrong, and mention that he never made u aware of the offences. It would also help to have a clean driving record, so I hope you do, but basically the judge will take the cop's word... sorry... Good luck though.

kratz74

How fast were you going? Were you flying through residential? No need for radar if you are clearly flying. Chances are the cop will show up so I'd find an atty and plea bargain it.

awsker

iTrader: (6)

Damn that's a lot of points! In Cali if you get 4, your license is suspended.

Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

I was goin about60-65 in a 35 zone, I think that the cop just heard my intake and decided that i was "hot rodding", because I was accelerating hard. But he threatened to take me to jail and stuff. I am going to go talk to him this week and see if i can get a deal made before I go to court. He didn't mention anything about my license being suspended. In south carolina you usually don't need an attorney. Hopefully I can get things worked out. This freakin sucks, but there is no one to blame but my self.

kbohip

It's 12 points here in Colorado too. I thought that was the norm for the entire US. You WILL need a lawyer for that though Bulldawg, he might be able to get the points way down which is even more important than the fine itself. I hate to say it but 6 points will raise your insurance, so try to get those down.

Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

there are a lot of ppl. emailing me with offers for lawyers, and I didn't mean that I need a lawyer to help me, I just wanted a lawyers advice(sorry about the confusion). I wasn't sure if we had any on the org. Why does everybody think that I will need a lawyer?...all of my friends and family don't seem to think that I will.....please digress

SG01MaxSE

I'm not a lawyer, but I am a cop...

... and I gotta say, your best bet is probably to pay the damn ticket and thank your lucky stars that you didn't hit someone or something at almost twice the posted speed limit! 65 in a 35?!?!? If you try to fight that one, the Judge is going to eat you alive.

I'm sure we all drive over the speed limit almost every day, but that's a little outrageous. Chalk it up as a learning experience and ,SLOW DOWN.

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

You said "Can someone who is familiar with the law please help me
" so some people gave you attourney contacts. Who is more familiar with the law?

max...to the ma

LOL

Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

ahhh perfect, your a cop. Hypothetical situation:

You right a young kid a ticket for reckless driving. Would it mean anything to you if the kid came and talked to you in person before the court date? Just to try and smooth things over.

i was thinkin about goin and talking to him, just to see if that would help me get a deal before court. I also wanted to apologize and stuff like that. Do you think that it is worth my time?....I am not planning on fighting this, I just would like to get it reduced.

TDoyle

"I was goin about60-65 in a 35 zone, I think that the cop just heard my intake and decided that i was "hot rodding", because I was accelerating hard."

Dude, you were hot rodding. You were going freeway speeds in a residentail area. Why so fast in an area like that? Unless you're on the way to the ER or something there is no reason for this in a neighborhood...too much opportunity for a kid to come running into the road after a ball or something.

I recommend you don't go try to see the cop as it will like just get him ****ed off all over again and could make matters worse (especially if the same guy pulls you over again some day and remembers you). You deserved to get the ticket, pay the fine and get on with your life...save your pennies too because your insurance is about to go up substantially.

lcf

iTrader: (6)

Bulldawg, nearly doubling the speed limit is not something that is easily excused. I know, I was in a similar situation but I got the fine knocked down to $190... IT WAS EVEN MY FIRST OFFENSE. If you don't have a spotless driving record, meaning, if you have tickets before, don't expect mercy.

I'd offer you my services at a 25% discount, but I'm not licensed in South Carolina and I don't have any business contacts there either. Sorry, bro. Best of luck... and slow it the #$@# down! Seriously.

BLKMAX005SPD

iTrader: (1)

I just for a ticket on thursday....71 in a 35....i am screwed again...
he lowered it to 60 in a 35...but still i will probley lose my license again
But good luck tryin to fight your ticket

max...to the ma

maybe he needed to take a large crap

tecman4

In some states reckless driving is a Misdemeanor, which goes on a Criminal record.
If I were you I would hire a lawyer

SG01MaxSE

Yes, it would mean something to me... IF I thought the guy was sincere.

If that's what you want to do, I would recommend that you find out what days and what time he works, and offer to meet him somewhere in his district, like a convenience store or something. Make sure it's someplace public like that, so that both of you are confident that there's nothing "covert" going on.

Be honest with him, and see what happens. I'm sure, if he feels like you HONESTLY deserve a break, he'll give you one. A lot depends on your record, too. If it's clear, you'll have a lot better chance than if this is your third ticket.

Good luck.

255HP_03_SE

Coming from someone who got a ticket for doing 90MPH in a 55MPH zone, I have solid advice... DO NOT try to fight it. Find a lawyer... it will cost you a few $$$, yes, but in the end, the lawyer will be able to help you plea the charges down. You will end up with probably inattentive driving or careless driving or something that is less points. If you try to fight it, you will look like a jerk and the judge will penalize you bad.

Something you do need to realize, though, is this... you f#$ked up, no ifs ands or buts about it. Just how much you pay for the penalty is up to how intelligently you approach this. If you prepare yourself with a lawyer and pay a little more, the hit on your record will be less and, in time, can go away (the insurance WILL go up, but you will see it go back down after 6 months, then a year, then two years, etc...). You are now a 'high risk' and you will pay high insurance no matter where you go.

What was my outcome? It was my first speeding offense in years (no record), and I plead guilty. The judge chewed my butt bad, but gave me a $160 fine (+ court costs) and I was given "supervision" (in Illinois, a first time offense you can get supervision... as long as you don't screw up in a year, it stays off of your record). Keep in mind, this was in 1998... since then, the law has changed in Illinois. Now, anything 30+ the speed limit is an automatic reckless driving, potential license suspension, and automatic court appearance and high fines.

Bottom line... get a lawyer, pay the fees, take the hit on your record, pay the higher insurance, and in a few years it will all go away.

That is, as long as you STOP DRIVING SO FAST IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS!!!

dmplus

One time we were heading down to mesquite through the backroads of utah and we were cruising at 80 or so (in a 65) very very narrow 2 lane road, no shoulders, sharp turns and hilly. 80 was about as fast as you could safely drive. Had the radar detector on. Some county police truck coming the other way flips around and pulls me over and claimd i was going 111 miles per hour. Pulled me out of the car and took me to his truck, then proceeded to write up all sorts of fines. (1200 dollars worth). Then ran my record and the record of all the passengers in the car. I explained that I was speeding but not anwhere near as fast as he claimed. He showed me his gun which showed his speed as 55.5 mph and my supposed speed 111 (exactly double). Then he explained he was going to take me to jail and book me and since it was the weekend there was no one to take bail money till monday. Finally he decided to not take me to jail but sill gave me the big fat fine. We continued on our trip without incident. When we got home I contacted a lawyer friend in my neighborhood. We sent testimony papers from the passengers down to the court and they agreed to drop the charges down to 80 in a 65 (100 dollar fine) and not put it on my record. Thank goodness for Attorneys Funny thing about the whole thing. The radar detector never beeped once when he pulled me over. I think something fishy was going on in that small town.

Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

I went and talked to the officer this week. I apologized and showed some remorse and he gave me a short lecture. He said that he didn't care about my speed, he just cared about my location, and the danger factor and how I could have hurt a lot of ppl. which is true and I am freaking idiot. But he went on to say that if I was going 140 on an empty road, that he wouldn't care (I thought to myself, can I get that in writing). Anyways, he ended up reducing my ticket to "too fast for conditions" which is a 2 pt., $150 fine. So needless to say I was lucky as hell and I am thankfull that he was understanding.

SG01MaxSE

Congrats man. Glad it (somewhat) worked out for you.

Appreciate you posting the follow-up. People forget that cops are normal folks too, sometimes. Nice to see a couple of "good cop" posts on the .org this week.

Be careful out there!

Winkler22

iTrader: (2)

Bulldawg, I didn't know anyone else on here lived in South Carolina. I live in Columbia, but I'm comin up near Clemson to visit my grandma and my friend this summer. Maybe we can race, lol. But it'll have to be in West Union b/c my grandma is the mayor there.

Bulldawg

iTrader: (1)

yup I will be here for the summer, just lemme know and we will get together on hang out.

sorcereur

Bulldawg, u might want to consider this for later on as well.
You can ask for a Prayer For Judgement. At least in North Carolina, you can use one per household every 3 years. It may be the same in South Carolina, so keep that in mind. I'd use it if it gets that bad, but don't let it happen again. The prayer for judgement is like a slap on the back of the hand, and it's forgiven. But if you get busted within a certain amount of time for the same type of thing it gets put on your record, and the new penalty as well.

Hope that helps in the future.